Customer Reviews

Murder at the Panionic Games

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Michael Edwards presently teaches at Garinger High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was a career officer and retired as a Army Lieutenant Colonel. He traveled widely, thus inspiring this mystery written about the Ionic League. Murder At The Panionic Games is his debut mystery novel.

Set in Priene, Greece in 650 B.C., Murder at the Panionic Games opens with Bias, a minor priest assigned to solve a murder that is shadowing the Panionic Games and casting what is called a "miasma of death" on the proceedings. Priene's best athlete has been poisoned and died in Bias' arms. Because he touched the unfortunate man, it is up to Bias to set things straight. Having no investigative abilities, Bias decides to use his best tool...his logic. But he doesn't have much time, and other than a warrant to give him authority, he doesn't have backup:

"It is not whether you will obtain answers, but rather whether you will even be allowed to ask questions in many cases! Even with your so-called warrant, the citizens of this and the other League cities are under no obligation to cooperate with you.' He paused, and added quietly, All I am saying is that you need to conduct your inquiries in such a manner that the possible witnesses or suspects will either want to cooperate or will feel obligated to, at the very least.'"

Edwards uses Bias' point of view to share the world of ancient Greece to the reader. We are treated to a collection of sights and sounds which make up Bias' world, even as he works his way through his first investigative assignment...an assignment in which he must not fail, for the sake of his family and his standing in society. Edwards develops Bias' character in a subtle, understated way which speaks volumes in a society in which stronger men are sacrificed in silly games for the sake of pride and vanity.

The murder itself turns into a perplexing tangle of possibilities, with fair maidens who may not be so fair or innocent as they seem at first glance. Edwards succeeds in covering the trail until the final explosive chapter, which is an inversion of the first chapter. Murder At The Panionic Games is a historical delight and a great whodunit. Bias is a lovable, clever detective.

Shelley Glodowski
Reviewer

I am sorry for a harsh judgment on this book that I have to deliver. This novel is indeed an amazing piece of incompetence.
It presents a remarkable mixture of dozens of the learned Greek words and total ignorance about certain basic things which constitute our knowledge of ancient Greece (it suffices to point out the reference to gladiators - and this is in the context of VI B.C. Hellenized Asia Minor, while the gladiatorial games were introduced, at least a centure later, in Rome by the Etruscans!). Even more astonishing is the author's onomastics: almost all the names (with the exception of the narrator Bias who was indeed a historical figure, one of the Seven Sages of Greece, and a couple of others) are notoriously un-Greek; in classical times, the Greek alphabet did not have a letter to connote the sound V, so a character called Valato is a sheer impossibility; no more possible were the names like Bilassa, Ossadia or Ustius. Why the author had not taken trouble to select for his characters any of hundreds Greek names historically attested? This is a magnificent example of sloppiness, increasingly characteristic of many present day practitioners who write historical fiction. Furthermore, I fear that a greater historical accuracy might have destroyed, or at least damaged, this novel's plot (in itself, neither inventive nor especially exciting). In any event, the author should have been advised, befor submiting it for publication to his, I fear to say, equally incompetent editors, at least to consult a professional classicist who could have helped him to remove numerous anachronisms, and only then perhaps make an a try at salvaging the book

Michael Edwards. Murder at the Panionic Games. Chicago: Academy Chicago publishers, 2002. 260 pp. $23.50

Richard Arlin (Dick) Stull
Humboldt State University

Murder at the Panionic Games involves a minor priest named Bias who is unwillingly shackled with the job of finding the perpetrator who poisoned a local athlete. Bias must deliver himself and his city state of Priene from the taint of miasma and the wrath of Poseidon after his mentor priest botches the sacrifice of an ox at the start of the games. The reader gets a good bit of Greek history and life in the polis during a 7th century B.C. athletic festival. The book's over abundance of clichés often gets in the way, however, of what is actually an intriguing plot line and a potentially marvelous way of educating while entertaining.
Bias is an engaging sleuth with a good mixture of self-deprecation and cockiness. Edward's descriptions of the town, the natural Ionian settings and his excellent depictions of the commercialism surrounding the athletic festival are interesting. The novel is also a good introduction to the dramas and dangers of ancient Greek athletic competitions in a culture that celebrated only winners. There are many allusions to Greek gods, which will delight lovers of myth.
There are some metaphors that don't work (a sword "sleeping" on the lap of Bias as he awaits the approach of the murderer in the cave) and some contradictory writing where the oxen to be sacrificed are in the same description coaxed and pulled but "plodding along in serenity, unknowing and uncaring." Though these seem like minor details, they distract from the reader's suspension of disbelief. Even more distracting, however, are common clichés like "old wives' tales" and "at any rate," "fish out of water," "squirming like an eel," "set the wheels in motion," and the repeated use of certain words like "unceremoniously." One cliché that was cleverly appropriated to bridge the 2700-year gap in time was "the sandal was on the other foot."
In summary, the potential for this kind of novel, particularly aimed at younger audiences, is extremely high. The characterizations of male-female social interactions, whose strict familial and social regulations fail to keep them from the lures of love and lust, are sometimes awkward but manage to give the reader insight into relationships between the sexes. Bias's recruiting of the family slave Duryattes to get gossip and information about the murder is an interesting and effective device. Finally, Edwards does a good job of distracting the reader from guessing who the real killer is until the murderer is revealed in the penultimate chapter. I think some rigorous editing, more judicious and sparing word choices, and the exorcising of clichés could have made this a more effective novel. I would hope that Edwards enters the 7th century BC Greek arena again and, to use another overwrought cliché myself, that he enters as a leaner and meaner writer. I'll be the first to read his second novel.

The author's style is enjoyable and provides good storytelling. The main character is an amateur sleuth who is thrust into solving a murder; he really has little idea what he is doing and develops throughout the novel. The setting is different. I'm glad someone else is writing stories set in Ancient Greece. I would also recommend searching out Margaret Doody's Aristole books, though they are only published in the UK.

This book is enjoyable (and quick) to read, and did a good job of conveying the feeling of collecting information and drawing conclusions (which the hero isn't very good at) for someone who doesn't even understand the basic concept of detection. The ancient Greek setting is unusual, although the author needed to do some more homework. Generally a good start to a possible series; I only hope some of the historic details are researched a bit more thoroughly in the future.

This book is an intriguing read, full of adventure and suspense. A great book to take with you to the beach or for your weekend getaway, it is easy to read, but that doesn't detract from the mystery. I highly recommend it as both a historical fiction and a mystery.

This mystery novel set in ancient Greece is a fun read and immensely enjoyable. While the whodunnit part is not as difficult to figure out as others in the genre, it was still a great ride due to the novelty of the setting. There are a few anachronisms but most readers will not feel the need to pore over the text to find them.
All in all, I heartily recommend this book and look forward to the next installment in this series.